djb

this is a variation of the old "My parents went to Florida and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"....

how about "my son did el camino and all I got were these lousy louses"?

good luck with them, most of us parents have gone through head lice situations, you just have to find the most effective, least invasive method (I do however second not letting him or any of his clothes, bags, etc into the house when he gets back, before quarantining it all in garbage bags. Heck, I'd even check his hair.)

pdlamb

Best way to kill bed bugs is apparently heat, now that they've developed insecticide resistance.

I wonder if leaving everything outside, locked in a black car in summer sunshine for a day, would do the trick?

spinnaker

It is a tight squeeze but he should be able to fit into one of hose big dryers.

Spld cyclist

We have one of these things, which you use with things that can stand heat but that you don't want to spin in the dryer: https://www.packtite.com/

It makes my wife less anxious about traveling if we can pop stuff in there when we get home.

Notgrownup

Heat.....heat....There is a spray you can now get but it's not 100%

fietsbob

the word is Fumigate .. there are people that do that to whole houses , its a business.



[edit] Then again.. will the bag fit in the Microwave?

Ekdog

I do believe this is what I'm going to have to do. I've been hearing more and more horror stories similar to your brother-in-law's. I'm going to tell my son not to bring the sleeping bag or anything else that might have been infested back with him. I also lent him my beloved Therm-a-Rest NeoAir air mattress and a bivy sack. I suppose these will have to be burnt as well.

Ekdog

Yes, but it's not so simple. The creatures have become highly resistant to pesticides.

Rowan

Why don't you use a freezer? Temperatures below 32 deg F will kill them.

The issue with residences infested with them is that they hide in places that are very difficult to spot treat, say, with heat or freezing or insecticides. Plus the eggs are an issue -- treatment has to be ongoing for a month or so. But that is in a residence.

Provided the equipment your son comes home with is isolated, such as in properly sealed plastic bags, they should be able to go into a freezer somewhere to eliminate them.

GuyWood

I agree, the critter keeper I keep crickets in for my tarantulas got infested with beetle larvae recently. I removed the crickets and stuck it in the freezer over night at -18c. None of them woke up the next day .

Ekdog

That sounds like good advice.

Spld cyclist

I don't understand why you don't just tell him to take the stuff to a laundromat, wash everything that can be washed, and dry it in one of their big dryers. That way, the stuff doesn't come into your house and it doesn't get thrown away. I'm thinking that the bivy sack might be safely washable, the sleeping bag should be, his clothes will be, backpack may be (depending on if it has a frame, etc.). Don't know about your them-a-rest, but it's better to try drying it than just throwing it away.

Freezing might work, but it may take quite a long time: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsh...gs-faq-fs.html

MichaelW

Wired magazine suggest a CO2 trap.
Bed bugs, like ticks are attracted to higher concentrations of CO2.

Ekdog

I've never seen an American-style, do-it-yourself laundromat in Spain. People do their laundry at home. We don't have a dryer; we hang clothes out on a line. I'll have him look around in Santiago. Perhaps there's a laundromat up there.

djb

I would reconsider tossing the neoair. I have one and there are not really any deep crevices for bugs or eggs to hide in.
In any case, good luck with it, as mentioned , at least its all easily contained when he gets back, unlike an apartment problem.

MarkvW

Exactly this!

Rowan

The post two above yours explains why not exactly this.

gpsblake

If you have access to a freezer, I would try that, give it 72 hours. Not sure about the eggs though, they might be able to survive cold and heat.

Niles H.

Hi Ekdog,

My favorite tool is time. You don't need chemicals or partially effective treatments. Just seal them up and let them live out their little lives inside the container. There should be no holes or passageways. The nymphs are small, but any well sealed container will keep them inside.

This is 100% effective.

It is a good solution for those who have alternate gear choices, or otherwise don't mind having the gear sealed up for about fourteen months. In warmer temps, they don't live as long (due to faster metabolisms); but they go into semi-hibernation below 61 degrees, and then the adults can live slighly over thirteen months. The nymphs die much more quickly.

Another solution is simple drowning. Add a bit of soap or detergent to break the surface tension. They drown more quickly this way. The adults and nymphs die surprisingly fast when underwater. The eggs also die, but may take longer. You can just weigh the sleeping bag (or other item) down, to keep it submerged completely. You can fill up a doubled trash bag inside a barrel (for support), or use a clean trash can, or some other container for the water.

You have to be careful with heat and cold, especially with something as insulative as a sleeping bag.

Also, many freezers simply do not get cold enough to kill them all.

Drowning is 100% effective.

fietsbob

.. Will the bag fit in the Microwave? in the stuff sack shouldn't matter.

Ekdog

Interesting. I wonder how long it takes for them to drown.

Niles H.

You can speed it up further by using very warm water. Nymphs and adults can't survive sustained temperatures over 113 degrees. For eggs, 120 is enough. Yogurt is often incubated at or near 120. It will feel almost too warm to leave your hand in it for long. So it really isn't much, and it is still 90 degrees shy of 212.All of them die very fast in water at 140-145. Water is faster and more effective than air.You could eliminate any significnt air pockets with a good weight (along with a screen or a board or lid of the right diameter to fit inside the container and over the bag).The combination of drowning, and penetrating, sure and effective extra heat would be a secure solution.You would want to take into account any cooling effects from the water contacting the bag and other materials.Down bags are usually not supposed to be washed in water that is too hot -- 130 seems safe enough, though; and 140-145 might just be fine as well. You might want to check with the manufacturer(s) too see what they say about it. I doubt that there is perfect agreement and a precise cutoff on this.There are also special cleaning agents made for down.

Niles H.

Technically, you wouldn't actually be washing the bag at these temperatures -- you would just be soaking it. The maximum advisable temperatures for soaking may very well be different from, and higher than, those for washing. You wouldn't be using much soap or detergent, and you wouldn't be agitating. So you wouldn't be as hard on the down.

Some peope like Atsko Sport Wash for cleaning down bags. There are other good products as well, if you want to clean the bag after soaking it.

Good luck with it -- there are some good solutions.

Niles H.

[A couple of posts back I meant to type 'over' 90 degrees shy of 212. Am on a Kindle, on tour by a pond in the forest, and can't go back and edit with it, at least usually not, on this forum. Please excuse the formatting anomolies on that post, and any other typos that may have occurred.]

skilsaw

Bed Bugs are discussed at length on this forum. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/
Just do a search, and i'm sure you'll get some good information.

I have washed and dried my down sleeping bag in the heavy duty machines in laundramats.
I wouldn't let your son's backpack, and all he carried into the house until it is all washed in hot water, and dried in a hot drier. Sealing everything in plastic garbage bags until you can get it washed is safe.

Remember it is more than killing the bugs. You need to kill the eggs too.